I have been looking at D-SLRs for a few months now and have pretty much made up my mind that I want a Canon Rebel XSi. I'm somewhat of a beginner to photography and I understand that. I have experience using a 35 mm film Canon SLR which was about the same as the Rebel XS.I know the basics of photography, but before I buy this camera, I want to know if there is anything I should look for before I pull the trigger and buy it. I will more than likely be buying the kit with the 18-55 mm lens. I would prefer something with more zoom capability, but for the price it's offered at, it will do fine for me.

Just my thoughts, and not knowing what you are paying for the kit you discribed, but I would think about a good used 40 D with a 28-135, 3.5-5.6 kit lens (very good for a kit lens) should be able to get the set up for around $750.00 to $800.00 on http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/10 buy and sell forum. If you can, go and hold both cameras, the build quality in the 40D is far superior in my opinion.

Thanks for the input. i forgot to mention I was basing the price off of the Canon website and Best Buy online store. We do have a great camera shop in town called Peoria Camera Shop. I would love to look at nicer cameras and get their opinion on my situation, but I'm trying to conserve as much money as possible since I'm currently making $8 an hour and have to pay for other things as well.

The XSi is currently $650, a fifty dollar reduction compared to a few months ago. Although we have a reputible camera shop in town, I was intending to buy the camera from Best Buy because I have a $50 gift card there, and every dollar helps.

If you are interested I have a like new XSi for sale. Here is the info....

Rebel XSi Kit w/18-55 IS lens, UV filter, extra Canon ($$$) battery, orginal box, all paperwork and an "cover anything" extended ($149) Best Buy warranty (expires 9/27/12), I'll throw in a 4GB SD card. The XSi is very light and easy to carry. I generally take it with us when we travel by plane. I have pics I can e-mail you if needed. $600.00 Good luck.

Last edited by skull; 04-12-2010 at 6:46 PM.
Reason: Forgot to include price!!

Rob, that sounds like a great deal! If that warranty is transferable, which I'm sure it is, I'd like to consider that offer. I'll have to think about it, but it has everything I was originally going to get, so if you could pm me pics, that would be great. Thanks for the offer. I have that $50 Best Buy card, but for that price, I could spend it on something else; maybe a lens flare protector or a camera bag?

I am honestly not sure if the warranty is transferable. It is the Best Buy Black Tie thing- I'd be happy to handle the warranty for you if you ever had an issue. I am in a conference through 4/15. I will try to send pics tonight. PM me with your e-mail address.

Any plan is transferable to another owner for the product identified by the serial number on the plan. There are no restrictions, provided your plan is valid. A plan cannot be transferred to another product.

You can transfer your plan to another consumer in the Service Plan Portal, at any time during the plan's coverage period, as long as the plan does not have an open claim. Transfers can be completed by either the original or the new owner.

Original purchase receipts, as well as any service repair receipts, must be transferred to the new owner in order to continue coverage.

To transfer a plan, send us a Request Form (see below), call 1-800-GEEKSQUAD (1-800-433-5778) or visit your local Best Buy store and we'll gladly assist you.

In the Service Plan Portal, you can access the form by following these steps:

1. Click "Transfer My Product" located next to the product on Product Listing page or any Product Detail page.
2. Follow the instructions and click "Submit."

I just wanted to let everyone know i ended up buying the Canon Rebel XS from the local shop, and I'm super happy with it. I figured the XS was cheaper, and I really didn't need the XSI since it's my first SLR. Besides, Peoria Camera Shop needed the money, so I was happy to buy from them. By the way, I heard the XSI was discontinued because of lack of sales. Is that true?

Here are a few pictures from Saint Louis SX over the weekend. All were shot using standard XS equipment, including the 18-55 mm lens. We were fortunate enough to have great seats close to the track.

Wes, love that last shot! Just helpful advice based on the first two pictures, read up on composition, exposure, aperture, etc. and how to properly adjust the manual settings on the camera. In your first shot its actually focused on the background, instead of the main subject. switching to manual focus and making sure your main subject is in crisp focus makes a WORLD of difference. Second picture, the eyes of viewers are going to tend to be drawn towards the right side of the picture, due to the motion. Generally you want to lead your subject and show where its headed when you're shooting moving vehicles/objects. (General rule, there are definitely exceptions). And that last picture, just awesome. Like i said, just some friendly advice to speed up your progress on learning the new camera, because I know you dropped some serious coin on it, its definitely worth learning all you can about it and putting it to its full use!

If you are interested I have a like new XSi for sale. Here is the info....

Rebel XSi Kit w/18-55 IS lens, UV filter, extra Canon ($$$) battery, orginal box, all paperwork and an "cover anything" extended ($149) Best Buy warranty (expires 9/27/12), I'll throw in a 4GB SD card. The XSi is very light and easy to carry. I generally take it with us when we travel by plane. I have pics I can e-mail you if needed. $600.00 Good luck.

I think the XSi is every bit as good as a 50D outdoors. This camera takes stunning pictures IMO. In lower light I think the 50D is better with its higher ISO abilities. I'd like to see how the XSi compares to the new T1 Rebels. I have always been blown away by the quality of pictures taken with the XSi. It is also so nice to carry around something so light compared to the 50D or a the very heavy 1D body!!!

I think the XSi is every bit as good as a 50D outdoors. This camera takes stunning pictures IMO. In lower light I think the 50D is better with its higher ISO abilities. I'd like to see how the XSi compares to the new T1 Rebels. I have always been blown away by the quality of pictures taken with the XSi. It is also so nice to carry around something so light compared to the 50D or a the very heavy 1D body!!!

T1i quality is definitely a step up. I went from an XTi to a T1i and you could tell a difference putting the pictures side by side. And for anyone looking to buy a T1i, go for the T2i if you'll be taking ANY video with it. the T2 shoots 60fps, and the focus on T1i video is god awful unless you manual focus.

Hey guys, sorry to highjack here. I was looking at getting my wife the rebel xsi. Neither of us know squat about photography but from what I have been reading this looks like a good starter and something to grow on. Any thoughts? Just want to start taking some better pics than the plain ole point and click camera.

Heres my flickr, all pictures taken with the xsi, http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaunhamm/
Now take into consideration that i am just a begginer photographer, but i have learned everything on the xsi. I only have the 18-55, but it still is a very capable camera. Onr problem i tend to have is when shooting at 1600 iso, you tend to get a lilttle grainy, but i usually shoot at 400-800 anyways.
I purchased my camera for 600 with a 4 gb card, lens, tripod, and a bunch of little accessories. I personally love this camera, i will most likely upgrade to something like a 7d whenever the time comes.